The Canadian bee that was buzzing around in the bonnet of the United States Department of Agriculture appears to have flown away.
Back in September, U.S. senators and trade officials said they were “shocked” over the level of durum imports coming from Canada.
During the crop year that ended Aug. 31, the Canadian Wheat Board shipped 655,500 tonnes of durum to the U.S., up 53 percent from the previous year’s shipments of 427,800 tonnes.
The USDA announced it would survey U.S. millers to find out why they were buying so much Canadian durum and, according to a Reuters’ story, promised to have the results within a couple of weeks.
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Two and a half months later the results of the survey still haven’t been released.
“Frankly, I couldn’t tell you just where it’s all at, but we are looking at those responses currently,” said Tim Galvin, administrator of the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
Jim Bair has a theory about the delay.
“It seems that the (survey) was intended more to score political points than it was a genuine intellectual exercise attempting to get facts,” said the vice-president of the North American Miller’s Association.
When the USDA does get around to tabulating the survey, the agency will find the message from the millers is clear:
“The reasons are fairly simple and actually quite obvious. Durum is somewhat of a specialty crop and we simply don’t produce enough of it in this country,” said Bair.
“Even if every kernel that we grew in the United States were of milling quality, we would not be producing enough to satisfy our total usage and we know that in most years about half of what we grow is of milling quality.”
He said several U.S. government policies have damaged the ability of farmers to supply durum to millers:
- The Conservation Reserve Program has taken some good durum-producing land out of production in North Dakota.
- The government’s “overreaction” to the discovery of karnal bunt in the desert southwest has pushed many producers in that area away from durum production.
- The U.S. crop insurance program has encouraged producers to grow durum in areas where they shouldn’t and that has caused some millers to steer clear of durum from those states for fear of vomitoxin.
Enough available
Judge Barth, marketing specialist with the North Dakota Wheat Commission, agrees that government programs have taken some durum land out of production. But he said when carryover stocks are taken into account, there is more than enough durum produced in the U.S. to meet the needs of domestic millers.
“I would be willing to guess that more of it is price driven than quality driven.”
Bair said the price of wheat board grain is not the issue.
“To me it’s irrelevant what the price is. If they don’t want Canadian grain to come in, then we need to grow more of it here.”
He also points out that U.S. growers are unable to meet the needs of millers who want to buy durum on a 12- to 18-month deferred-delivery basis.
“The Canadian Wheat Board is the only seller who will make offers on that business.”
He said no matter what reason U.S. millers are buying grain from Canada, “in the end it’s completely legal and above board.”
